frederick douglass speech transcript

Travel through South America. I think that, in whatever else I may be deficient, I have They convert the very name of religion into an engine of tyranny, and barbarous cruelty, and serve to confirm more infidels, in this age, than all the infidel writings of Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and Bolingbroke, put together, have done! WebThe Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro by Frederick Douglass. In glaring violation of justice, in shameless disregard of the forms of administering law, in cunning arrangement to entrap the defenseless, and in diabolical intent, this Fugitive Slave Law stands alone in the annals of tyrannical legislation. Behold the practical operation of this internal slave-trade, the American slave-trade, sustained by American politics and America religion. You have no right to enjoy a childs share in the labor of your fathers, unless your children are to be blest by your labors. What was possible for him, he sincerely believed was possible for any man who was willing to work hard. Ever ready to drink, to treat, and to gamble. The task before me is one which requires much previous thought and study for its proper performance. I was glad to find one who sympathized with me in my horror. Frederick Douglass, Fifth of July speech (1852) That people contented themselves under the shadow of Abrahams great name, while they repudiated the deeds which made his name great. They showed forbearance; but that they knew its limits. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. While I do not intend to argue this question on the present occasion, let me ask, if it be not somewhat singular that, if the Constitution were intended to be, by its framers and adopters, a slave-holding instrument, why neither slavery, slaveholding, nor slave can anywhere be found in it. May of Syracuse, and my esteemed friend (Rev. During Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Go search where you will. Its quite a remarkable speech as Douglass in a way reenacts his own journey in appreciation for the work that Lincoln did, not just for blacks, but for whites in this country. In the solitude of my spirit, I see clouds of dust raised on the highways of the South; I see the bleeding footsteps; I hear the doleful wail of fettered humanity, on the way to the slave markets, where the victims are to be sold like horses, sheep, and swine, knocked off to the highest bidder. My spirit wearies of such blasphemy; and how such men can be supported, as the standing types and representatives of Jesus Christ, is a mystery which I leave others to penetrate. A John Knox would be seen at every church door, and heard from every pulpit, and Fillmore would have no more quarter than was shown by Knox, to the beautiful, but treacherous queen Mary of Scotland. To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs and to chime in with the popular theme would be treason most sacrilegious and shocking and would make me a reproach before God and the world. The text of Frederick Douglasss most famous speech, given in 1852, What, to a slave, is the Fourth of July? A chapter describing Douglasss early encounters with abolitionists, from his autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom, 1857. Build with the best speech-to-text APIs around. Would you have me argue that man is entitled to Liberty, that he is the rightful owner of his body? What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? I do not hesitate to declare with all my soul that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July. On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a speech at an Independence Day celebration organized by the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. Community Reading: Frederick Douglass's "What An American judge gets ten dollars for every victim he consigns to slavery, and five, when he fails to do so. here lies the merit, and the one which, of all others, seems unfashionable in our day. In a final celebratory post for Black History Month 2023, it is worth returning to the 1883 Douglass Banquet. They perambulate the country, and crowd the highways of the nation, with droves of human stock. He can bring no witnesses for himself. Translated on-screen subtitles for videos. You can bare your bosom to the storm of British artillery to throw off a threepenny tax on tea; and yet wring the last hard-earned farthing from the grasp of the black laborers of your country. That bolt drawn, that chain broken, and all is lost. From the round top of your ship of state, dark and threatening clouds may be seen. Cling to this day cling to it, and to its principles, with the grasp of a storm-tossed mariner to a spar at midnight. According to this fact, you are, even now, only in the beginning of your national career, still lingering in the period of childhood. WebFrederick Douglass, July 5, 1852 INTRODUCTION (Exordium) 1. Is it at the gateway? It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement, the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet, you cling to it, as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes. Heavy billows, like mountains in the distance, disclose to the leeward huge forms of flinty rocks! Hear his savage yells and his blood-chilling oaths, as he hurries on his affrighted captives! The feeling of the nation must be quickened. It is carried on in all the large towns and cities in one-half of this confederacy; and millions are pocketed every year, by dealers in this horrid traffic. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth. Is slavery among them? Who can reason on such a proposition? WebOn July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a keynote address at an Independence Day celebration and asked, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Douglass was a powerful If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.. Speech At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. By that act, Mason and Dixons line has been obliterated; New York has become as Virginia; and the power to hold, hunt, and sell men, women, and children as slaves remains no longer a mere state institution, but is now an institution of the whole United States. The crack you heard, was the sound of the slave-whip; the scream you heard, was from the woman you saw with the babe. We are met on the threshold of our efforts for the redemption of the slave, by the church and ministry of the country, in battle arrayed against us; and we are compelled to fight or flee. welcome atheism! That I am here to-day is, to me, a matter of astonishment as well as of gratitude. For the present, it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race. The Bible addresses all such persons as scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, who pay tithe ofmint, anise,andcumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith.. The population was weak and scattered, and the country a wilderness unsubdued. Yet they persevered. Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. My business, if I have any here today, is with the present. Your broad republican domain is hunting ground formen. What, am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters? Intelligence is penetrating the darkest corners of the globe. What then remains to be argued? Should I seem at ease, my appearance would much misrepresent me. You were under the British Crown. The message of Frederick Douglasss 1852 speech on the contradiction of Americas just ideals and unjust realities endures. What would be thought of an instrument, drawn up, legally drawn up, for the purpose of entitling the city of Rochester to a track of land, in which no mention of land was made? Fully appreciating the hardship to be encountered, firmly believing in the right of their cause, honorably inviting the scrutiny of an on-looking world, reverently appealing to heaven to attest their sincerity, soundly comprehending the solemn responsibility they were about to assume, wisely measuring the terrible odds against them, your fathers, the fathers of this republic, did, most deliberately, under the inspiration of a glorious patriotism, and with a sublime faith in the great principles of justice and freedom, lay deep the corner-stone of the national superstructure, which has risen and still rises in grandeur around you. There are illustrations of it near and remote, ancient and modern. It is not that pure and undefiled religion which is from above, and which is first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits,without partiality, and without hypocrisy. But a religion which favors the rich against the poor; which exalts the proud above the humble; which divides mankind into two classes, tyrants and slaves; which says to the man in chains,stay there; and to the oppressor,oppress on; it is a religion which may be professed and enjoyed by all the robbers and enslavers of mankind; it makes God a respecter of persons, denies his fatherhood of the race, and tramples in the dust the great truth of the brotherhood of man. With little experience and with less learning, I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together; and trusting to your patient and generous indulgence, I will proceed to lay them before you. I leave, therefore, the great deeds of your fathers to other gentlemen whose claim to have been regularly descended will be less likely to be disputed than mine! Its future might be shrouded in gloom, and the hope of its prophets go out in sorrow. The Sharps, the Clarksons, the Wilberforces, the Buxtons, and Burchells and the Knibbs, were alike famous for their piety, and for their philanthropy. Descendants of Frederick Douglass read excerpts from one of his most famous speeches: What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? 1883 Speech by Frederick Douglass - accessible-archives.com The cause of liberty may be stabbed by the men who glory in the deeds of your fathers. What to the American slave is your 4th of July? For there, they that carried us away captive, required of us a song; and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. Frederick Douglass We are called upon to prove that we are men. But I fancy I hear some one of my audience say, it is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression on the public mind. You have no right to wear out and waste the hard-earned fame of your fathers to cover your indolence. The simple story of it is that, 76 years ago, the people of this country were British subjects. I have better employments for my time and strength than such arguments would imply. These wretched people are to be sold singly, or in lots, to suit purchasers. Sydney Smith tells us that men seldom eulogize the wisdom and virtues of their fathers, but to excuse some folly or wickedness of their own. To side with the right, against the wrong, with the weak against the strong, and with the oppressed against the oppressor! Three score years and ten is the allotted time for individual men; but nations number their years by thousands. The timid and the prudent (as has been intimated) of that day, were, of course, shocked and alarmed by it. Everywhere, in this country, it is safe to speak of this foreign slave-trade, as a most inhuman traffic, opposed alike to the laws of God and of man. Oh, had I, the ability, and could I reach the nations ear, I would today pour out a fiery steam of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. The questions are designed to provoke thought and guide the students through the document. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slaves point of view. Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man Speech | The Art of Manliness Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. I am not that man. You may rejoice. There was, at that time, a grand slave mart kept at the head of Pratt Street, by Austin Woldfolk. It is neither. Frederick Douglass speech - PBS They inhabit all our Southern States. It would, certainly, prove nothing, as to what part I might have taken, had I lived during the great controversy of 1776. The causes which led to the separation of the colonies from the British crown have never lacked for a tongue. How should I look today in the presence of Americans dividing and subdividing, a discourse to show that men have a natural right to freedom speaking of it, relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively? Frederick Douglass When you can point to any such laws in reference to the beasts of the field, then I may consent to argue the manhood of the slave. See, too, that girl of thirteen, weeping, yes! To say now that America was right, and England wrong, is exceedingly easy. The Best Speech-to-Text Solution for Your Business Learn how Rev fits into your businesses workflow. In the text it states, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christian God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave- we are called upon to prove that we are men? (Douglas 763). You are all on fire at the mention of liberty for France or for Ireland; but are as cold as an iceberg at the thought of liberty for the enslaved of America. Ex-Senator Benton tells us that the price of men was never higher than now. The ear-piercing fife and the stirring drum unite their accents with the ascending peal of a thousand church bells. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. In several states, this trade is a chief source of wealth. That point is conceded already. Frederick Douglass: (04:09) I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. Need I remind you that a similar thing is being done all over this country to-day? Speech-to-Text live streaming for live captions, powered by the worlds leading speech recognition API. How should I look today, in the presence of Americans, dividing, and subdividing a discourse, to show that men have a natural right to freedom? speech was delivered on July 5, 1852 as an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. Before you read the speech you can follow these links to learn more about Douglasss life and the evolution of his thought in this period. Short bio of Frederick Douglass The Frederick Douglass Papers Library of Congress With them, nothing was settled that was not right. You invite to your shores fugitives of oppression from abroad, honor them with banquets, greet them with ovations, cheer them, toast them, salute them, protect them, and pour out your money to them like water; but the fugitives from your own land you advertise, hunt, arrest, shoot and kill. It esteems sacrifice above mercy; psalm-singing above right doing; solemn meetings above practical righteousness. Born to an enslaved family in 1818, Frederick Douglass never knew his actual birthday, a fact not uncommon for those enslaved. The accepted time with God and his cause is the ever-living now. One of the parts of the speech that resonates with me the most is when Douglass says: What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? But it is answered in reply to all this, that precisely what I have now denounced is, in fact, guaranteed and sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States; that the right to hold and to hunt slaves is a part of that Constitution framed by the illustrious Fathers of this Republic. speech At some future period I will gladly avail myself of an opportunity to give this subject a full and fair discussion. There is consolation in the thought that America is young. WebOn January 9, 1894, at Washington, D.C.'s, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Frederick Douglass delivered his "The Lessons of the Hour" speech, which addressed the Frederick Douglass: (02:57) There, the question of emancipation was a high religious question. They were great men too great enough to give fame to a great age. Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! VIDEO: Frederick Douglass' descendants deliver his 'Fourth of July' speech. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. But a still more inhuman, disgraceful, and scandalous state of things remains to be presented. When you can point to any such laws, in reference to the beasts of the field, then I may consent to argue the manhood of the slave. They succeeded; and to-day you reap the fruits of their success. WebFrederick Douglass speech Historical Document "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" 1852 Resource Bank Contents Click here for the text of this historical document. The fate of many a slave has depended upon the turn of a single card; and many a child has been snatched from the arms of its mother by bargains arranged in a state of brutal drunkenness. I say it with a sad sense of disparity between us. I remember, also, that, as a people, Americans are remarkably familiar with all facts which make in their own favor. On the other hand it will be found to contain principles and purposes, entirely hostile to the existence of slavery. But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. For 186 years this doctrine of national independence has shaken the globeand it remains the most powerful force anywhere in the world today. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and a bye-word to a mocking earth. My subject then, fellow citizens, is American slavery. Youmay rejoice,Imust mourn. This truth is not a doubtful one. With them, justice, liberty and humanity were final; not slavery and oppression. No, I will not. The subject has been handled with masterly power by Lysander Spooner, Esq., by William Goodell, by Samuel E. Sewall, Esq., and last, though not least, by Gerritt Smith, Esq. These gentlemen have, as I think, fully and clearly vindicated the Constitution from any design to support slavery for an hour. Yet this is but a glance at the American slave-trade, as it exists, at this moment, in the ruling part of the United States. Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? Their conduct was wholly unexceptionable. When a sufficient number have been collected here, a ship is chartered, for the purpose of conveying the forlorn crew to Mobile, or to New Orleans. Were the nation older, the patriots heart might be sadder, and the reformers brow heavier. That point is conceded already. Neither steam nor lightning had then been reduced to order and discipline. Where these go, may also go the merciless slave-hunter. Of this sort of change they are always strongly in favor. The madness of this course, we believe, is admitted now, even by England; but we fear the lesson is wholly lost on our present ruler. There were then no means of concert and combination, such as exist now. Frederick Douglass, circa 1879. Difference between Rittenhouse and McMichael-Bryan verdicts? Frederick Douglass delivered his famous speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? in 1852, drawing parallels between the Revolutionary War and the fight to abolish slavery. In prosecuting the anti-slavery enterprise, we have been asked to spare the church, to spare the ministry; buthow, we ask, could such a thing be done? All Rights Reserved. How unlike the politicians of an hour! It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write. Their solid manhood stands out the more as we contrast it with these degenerate times. The hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed and its crimes against God and man must be denounced. Speech It is a slander upon their memory, at least, so I believe. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the lame man leap as an hart.. There, the church, true to its mission of ameliorating, elevating, and improving the condition of mankind, came forward promptly, bound up the wounds of the West Indian slave, and restored him to his liberty. Speech In that instrument I hold there is neither warrant, license, nor sanction of the hateful thing; but, interpreted as it ought to be interpreted, the Constitution is a GLORIOUS LIBERTY DOCUMENT. When Douglass delivered his famous The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro address before an audience at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, he was issuing a scathing indictment of American hypocrisy, Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy reminded readers. Discover why Rev is the #1 speech-to-text service in the world. There are 72 crimes in the state of Virginia, which if committed by a black man, no matter how ignorant he be, subject him to the punishment of death, while only two of these same crimes will subject a white man to like punishment. YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD; cease to do evil, learn to do well; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge for the fatherless; plead for the widow., The American church is guilty, when viewed in connection with what it is doing to uphold slavery; but it is superlatively guilty when viewed in connection with its ability to abolish slavery. Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who could address this audience nor grace my speech with any high sounding exordium. Friends and citizens, I need not enter further into the causes which led to this anniversary. To do so, would be to make myself ridiculous, and to offer an insult to your understanding. There is not time now to argue the constitutional question at length nor have I the ability to discuss it as it ought to be discussed. Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens: He who There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia, which, if committed by a black man, (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment. They did so in the form of a resolution; and as we seldom hit upon resolutions, drawn up in our day whose transparency is at all equal to this, it may refresh your minds and help my story if I read it. They went so far in their excitement as to pronounce the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to.